Can’t Swim Fail You Again (Pure Noise) Not even two years old yet, the Keansburg New Jersey-based rock band Can’t Swim has a promising debut album on their hands with ‘Fail You Again.’ Formed by drummer-turned-guitarist and singer/songwriter, Chris LoPorto,…

Chicano Batman Freedom is Free (ATO) With the first strums of “Passed You By,” and the airy vocals of lead singer Bardo Martinez, I was transported back to a hazy, 1972-Curtis Mayfield, kind of day. Sun shining, surrounded by friends,…

Churchwood Hex City (Saustex) Pulitzer prize winning film critic Roger Ebert once said that the best movies are those that – figuratively – start in one place and end in another. It’s the journey that makes the experience so meaningful…

Rodney Crowell Close Ties (New West) It’s been a little over two years since multi-Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell released the critically acclaimed album, ‘The Traveling Kind,’ a duets album, with longtime collaborator Emmylou Harris. Now the crooner returns…

Brigitte DeMeyer and Will Kimbrough Mockingbird Soul (Self-Released) There’s just something great about a man, a woman and instruments that don’t need an electric outlet. Brigitte DeMeyer and Will Kimbrough certainly got the memo; ‘Mockingbird Soul’ is 12 songs of…

Ruthie Foster Joy Comes Back (Blue Corn) With an apt title ‘Joy Comes Back,’ Texas troubadour Ruthie Foster returns with her first studio album in three years, and the sound is just that: full of Joy. Foster is known as…

Colin Hay Fierce Mercy (Compass/Lazy Eye) “Seasons come and seasons go Some talking in between I’m lookin’ through the window now At all that I have been” One of the signature sounds of early 80s pop music was provided by…

The Routes In This Perfect Hell (Dirty Water) The Routes are an Oita, Japan-based three-piece consisting of Chris Jack (bass, vocals, bass, organ, percussion) with Shinichi Nakayama (drums), and Toru Nishimuta (bass). Jack is the brain child of the band,…

Shinyribs I Got Your Medicine (Mustard Lid) One of the best scenes in John Hughes 1987 film “Adventures in Babysitting” was when the kids stumble into a late night blues club and belt out an impromptu, catchy little ditty that…

Matthew Squires Tambaleo (Already Dead Tapes) For the past few years, Austin-based musician Matthew Squires has been turning out one great album of quirky indie pop after another and “Tambaleo” shows no signs that he is letting up anytime soon….

Thorcraft Cobra The Distance (Plaza Bowl) Classic rock and power pop had a kid, named it Thorcraft, and man, did that brat know how to write a song! On their second record, “The Distance,” Thorcraft Cobra (honestly, a wasted name…

Toma Aroma (Self-Released) Spiderman. Batman. “Lethal Weapon.” “24.” “Rush Hour.” What do all of these have in common? They were caught up (some successfully, some not) in the reboot craze that’s been plaguing Hollywood as of late. In an effort…

Bash & Pop Anything Could Happen (Fat Possum) With a resume including The Replacements, Soul Asylum, Guns N’ Roses, and countless others, Tommy Stinson has had an amazing run as a bassist, guitarist, and singer As his first post-Replacements group,…